Summary: On the evening of August 1st, 1942, leading into the early morning hours of the 2nd, Jose Diaz had attended a birthday party in what is today known as the city of Maywood. He would be discovered beaten, stabbed and unresponsive just outside the fence surrounding the house. With so many conflicting witness statements, law enforcement, becoming more and more frustrated with the influx of Mexican Americans flooding into Los Angeles, they decided to conduct a dragnet, arresting anyone who was Mexican. Tensions between them, along with the incoming servicemen in California preparing to head off to fight the War the US had been thrust into following the attacks on Pearl Harbor, would erupt the following summer. 5 days of rioting would ensue, leading to one of the most pivotal events in Mexican American History.
